Electronic accumulator



5, 1947. R. E. MUMMA ET AL 2,426,279

ELECTRONI G ACCUMULATOR Filed April 50, 1942 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l lobertE. Mumma and I Ernest V. Guldcn Inventors By M M Their Attorney Aug; 26,1947. R. E. MUMMA ETA];

ELECTRONIC ACCUMULATOR Filed April 30, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 kobrt E.Mumma and Ernest V. Gulden Inventors By ge I M Their Attorney PatentedAug. 26, 1947 ELECTRONIC ACCUDIULATOR Robert E. Mumma and Ernest V.Gulden, Dayton, Ohio, assignors to The National Cash Register Ohio, acorporation of Company, Maryland Dayton,

Application April 30, 1942, Serial No. 441,102

16 Claims.

This invention relates to an electronic device forrepresenting data, andparticularly to a device which is capable of high-speed operation inresponse to one or more electrical impulses.

The electronic device of the'invention may be used to represent anydesired kind of data which is transmitted thereto as electricalimpulses. In the disclosed embodiment, the electronic device consists ofa plurality of gaseous electron tubes, each tube representing a unit ofdata and being arranged in a ring. The tubes of this ring are coupled inan endless series to be operated sequentially in response to electricalimpulses which may represent any desired kind of data to be transmittedthereto. The input impulses are impressed on all of the'tubes of thering simultaneously at a frequency the maximum of which is determined bythe speed of operation of the 7 ring, but are efiective only on thetubes which have been primed orv made ready for operation. The couplingof the tubes in the endless operative series is effective to provide thenecessary priming of the tubes because, when one tube is conducting, thecoupling will enable this tube to prime the next tube to be fired in thesequence and thus render that tube responsive to the next impulse.

Since the tubes making up the ring are gaseous electron tubes, they willcontinue to conduct once they are fired and are conducting, and, inorder that the tubes of the ring may be operated step by step and overand over again in endless chain sequence, provision must be made toextinguish the tubes after they have been fired. Applicants haveprovided a novel control over the extinguishing of the tubes which willenable an extremely rapid operation of the device.

One of the known methods of extinguishing the tubes is. to couple thecathodes of the tubes of the ring. together in such a manner that thepotential change of the cathode of one tube, as that tube is fired andbecomes conductive, is impressed on the cathodes of all the other tubesand will momentarily raise the potential of the cathode of anypreviously conducting tube to a value which exceeds the anode potentialand will cause that tube to cease conducting and become extinguished.After the momentary change in potential has been impressed on thecathodes of the tubes, these cathodes are allowed to recover or resumetheir normal potential, at which time the tubes are ready to haveanother input impulse impressed thereon. Thus, when all the cathodes ofthe tubes of a ring are afiected by the firing of each tube, furtherinput impulses may not be impressed on the ring until the cathodesrecover from the potential change impressed thereon by the firing of anyother tube in the ring, and thi limits the speed of operation of thering.

In applicants novel arrangement, the tubes arelnot coupled so that theextinguishing action resulting from the firing of a tube is impressed onall the other tubes of the ring, but the tubes of the ring are connectedin groups, and, when any tube of a group is fired, it will affect onlythe tubes of its group and cause any conducting tubes of the group to beextinguished. By including adjacent tubes in sequence in differentgroups of tubes, it is seen that a primedtube will not be aiiected bythe extinguishing action of its preceding tubev and will .not have torecover from this extinguishing action before it is ready to have aninput impulse impressed thereon.

Inasmuch as one tube in each group of tubes which are connected togetherwill be conducting, it follows that, in the operation of the ring,

the number of tubes that will be conducting at any time will be equaltothe number of groups into which the tubes of the ring have beendivided.

While applicants novel control over the extinguishing action is shown inconjunction with the method of extinguishing the tubes byelectrostatically connecting the cathodes so that the potential rise ofthe cathode of one tube as it is fired can cause a previously conductingtube to be extinguished, it is not limited to use with this method, butis also applicable with other methods that may be used. .The methodshown in the United States patent application of Robert E. Mumma, SerialNo. 395,995, which was filed on May 31, 1941, and which issued on June4, 1946, as Patent No. 2,401,657, may be used, in which method thecathodes are isolated and the extinguishing action is brought about byhaving a resistor in the anode circuit, which, when a tube'is fired,causes the anode potential of a previously conducting tube to drop belowthe potential of its cathode, thus extinguishing the previouslyconducting tube, and, when this method is used, the tubes may be groupedfor mutual extinguishing action by interconnecting the anodes of thetubes constituting each group and connecting each group of anodes over aseparate resistor to a source of anode potential. This arrangement willalso isolate the extinguishing action between the groups.

The novel arrangement will probably be more clear if a concret exampleis considered.

In the disclosed embodiment, which is illustrative of one kind of datawhich the device can represent, there are shown ten tubes arranged in acounting ring, each of the tubes in the ring representing one of thevalues to 9 in a denominational order in the decimal notation. The tubesof the ring are interconnected in an endless chain for causing the tubesto be selectively primed and to be operated sequentially one afteranother in response to electrical input impulses impressed on all thetubes simultaneously. In the disclosed embodiment of the ring, the tubesare connected in five groups of two tubes each, as follows: the cathodesof the 0 and the 5 tubes are connected together, as are the cathodes ofthe 1 and the 6 tubes, the cathodes of the Ziand the '7 tubes, thecathodes of the 3 and the 8 tubes, and the cathodes of the 4 and the "9tubes, and in each of the groups the firing of either tube will beeffective through the cathode connection to extinguish the other tube ofthat group. With this arrangement, half of the tubes of the ring will beconducting at any instant.

When the "0 tube is fired by an input impulse, it will cause the 5 tubeto be extinguished, and, with the tubes connected in five groups asindicated above, the 5 tube can recover during the time that impulsesare effective to fire the 1,

2, 3, and 4 tubes in succession. With this length of time torecover, thetime between the firing of adjacent tubes is not limited by the recoveryof any tube after the extinguishing operation, but is limitedprincipally by the time constant-of the grid input circuit for thetubes, and by the ionization time of the primed tube. The loss in theinput circuit of the primed tube can be partially overcome by causingthe priming potential to overshoot by means of a priming capacitor.

Therefore, with applicants novel arrangement, each tube is extinguishedby the operation of the other tube of the same pair, and theextinguished tube is not primed for operation until one tube of each ofthe other pairs making up the ring has been operated. In the interval oftime in whichthe extinguished tube can recover from the effects of itsbeing extinguished and return to the condition to be fired by an impulseafter it has been primed by the operation of a tube of the group oftubes next preceding it in sequence, other impulses can be impressed onthe ring, and the speed of operation of the ring can be increasedapproximately five times that possible when each extinguishing action isimpressed on all of the tubes of the ring.

The disclosed embodiment of the invention shows the tubes grouped forextinguishing action in such a way that half the tubes are conducting atany given instant when the ring is in use;

however, it is obvious that other groupings of the tubes may be made,depending upon the number of tubes in the ring, the number of tubes thatare to be conducting at any instant, and the speed at which the ring isto operate. For instance, the tubes may be connected for extinguishingaction in two groups of five tubes each, and in this arrangement onlytwo tubes of the ring will be conducting at any instant. Though thisgrouping would reduce the number of tubes that are conducting at anyinstant, it would slow down the operation of the ring, because eachgroup of tubes would be affected by every other input impulse, and asecond impulse could not be impressed On another tube of the group untilall the tubes of that group had recovered. The use of two groups of fivetubes each will enable impulses to be impressed on the ringapproximately twice as fast as when all the tubes are affected by eachextinguishing action.

It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide a, countingring of electronic devices which can operate at a higher speed thanspeeds previously known in the operation of similar counting rings.

Another object of the invention is to provide a high-speed gaseouselectron tube counting ring which will enable impulses to be impressedon the ring at a high frequency to cause the stepby step operation ofthe tubes in the ring.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel manner ofconnecting the tubes of a gaseous electron tube ring so that they may beselectively extinguished without the extinguishing action affecting allthe tubes.

A further object of the invention is to provide a gaseous electron tubering in which the tubes are connected in groups, so that th firing of atube in an group will be operative to cause an extinguishing action ononly the tubes of its group, and in which the tubes of different groupsare coupled for sequential firing in response to impressed impulses, thepattern of the grouping of the tubes being such as to enable a maximumnumber of impulses to afiect the ring without a recurrence of firing ofthe tubes in any of the groups, whereby a maximum number of impulses canbe impressed on the ring in any given period of time to cause itsoperation at a high rate of speed.

With these and incidental objects in view, the invention includescertain novel features of construction and combinations of parts, theessential elements of which are set forth in appended claims and apreferred form or embodiment of which is hereinafter described withreference to the drawings which accompany and form a part of thisspecification.

Of said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic showing of the priming couplings between thetubes of a gaseous electron tube counting ring for representing thedigits of a denominational order in the decimal notation and also adiagrammatic showing of the coupling of the tubes in pairs for mutualextinguishing action.

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic showing of the priming couplings between thetubes of a gaseous electron tube counting ring for representing thedigits of a denominational order in the decimal notation and also adiagrammatic showing of another arrangement for the coupling of thetubes in groups for mutual extinguishing action.

Fig. 3 is a circuit diagram for operatively connecting the ten gaseouselectron tubes according to the arrangement shown in Fig. 1.

General description In Fig. 1, which is a functional diagram of theoperation of the ten gaseous electron tubes connected in a network, thecircles represent the tubes, the numbers in the circles representarbitrarily assigned digital values of the tubes in the decimal system,and the shading and non-shading of the circles indicate the conductingand non-conducting condition of the tubes, respectively.

In the arrangement disclosed in this figure, the tubes are divided formutual extinguishing action into five groups of two tubes each. When thering is being operated, one or the other of the tubes of each group oftubes is in a conducting condition, which causes the other tube of thegroup to be in a non-conducting condition. As

shown in this figure, the 6, '7, 8, 9, and

chosen to represent the accumulated data, as long as the chosen relationis adhered to throughout the reception of the particular data.

The tubes of the ring are paired for mutual extinguishing action byhaving their cathodes electrostatically connected, so that, when onetube of the is fired or becomes conducting, the potential change of itscathode will cause the other tube of its pair, which tube is alreadyconducting, to be extinguished, and this extinguishing action isisolated within the pairs of tubes and does not extend to or afiect thetubes of other pairs of tubes making up the ring. The connectionsbetween the cathodes of the pairs of tubes are shown schematically inFig. 1 by the line iii, connecting the 6 and the 5 tubes; the line i l,connecting the 1 and the 6 tubes; the line it, connecting the 2 and the7 tubes; the line it, connecting the 3 and the 8 tubes; and the line it,connecting the 4 and the 9 tubes. The grids of the tubes normally arebiased suiiiciently to prevent the input impulses from causing thenon-conducting tubes to become conducting, but a connection between thecathode of one tube and the grid of the next succeeding tube in the ringenables the cathode potential rise of one tube, when that tube isconducting, to reduce the bias of. the grid of the next tube or primethat tube so that the next input impulse impressed on the tube; will beefiective to fire the primed tube. The adjacent tubes of the ring areaccordingly connectedby priming couplings in an endless operative chain,so that, as the impulses are impressed on the ring, the tubes will befired one after another in a step-bystep sequence. The priming couplingsare schematically indicated in Fig. 1 by lines, as l5, which connectadjacent tubes, the arrows on the lines indicating the direction inwhich priming takes place.

As explained above, the condition of the counting ring as shownschematically in Fig, 1 represents the value zero, because the mostclockwise tube, which is shown conducting, is the 0 tube. When this tubebecame conducting, it was effective, through the extinguishingconnection it, to cause the 5 tube 'to become extinguished and, throughthe priming connection, to prime the 1 tube for operation by the nextinput impulse. This condition of the ring will continue until the nextimpulse is received, at which time the primed 1 tube will be fired andbecome conducting and cause the 6 tube to be extinguished and the tubeto be primed for operation. The tubes of the ring now represent thedigit 1. The following impulse will cause the 2 tube to fire and becomeconducting, which causes the 8 tube to be extinguished and the 3 tube tobe primed for operation. The tubes of the ring are thus renderedconducting one after the other in equence by the input impulses, but itshould be noted that, in the tubes paired for extinguishing action,there is no recurrence of the firing of the tubes in any pair until thefifth impulse is received and a tube of each of the other pairs has beenfired. This enables the ring to be operated at a high rate of speed.

A variation in the manner of comiecting the tubes of the ring for mutualextinguishing action is shown in Fig. 2. The conventions notedinconnection with the showing of the ring in Fig. 1 apply also to thisring. The shading of the 9 the 0 tubes shows that, of all the tubes ofthe ring, only twothe 9 tube and the 0 tube are conducting, and this isthe zero-representing condition of the ring. The priming connections forcoupling the adjacent tubes are shown schematically by the lines, as IS,with the arrows indicating the direction of the priming action. In thering as shown in Fig. 2, the tubes are not connected in pairs for mutualextinguishaction, but are connected in two groups of five tubes each,with adjacent tubes in the ring being included in difierent groups. Oneof these groups is schematically shown connected by the dotted line lland includes the 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 tubes. Through this connection, thefiring of any tube in the group will cause any other conducting tube ofthe group to be extinguished. The other group of tubes is schematicallyshown connected by the dot-and-dash line [8 and includes 1, 3, 5, 7,.and 9 tubes, which connection enables the firing of any tube of thisgroup to cause any other tube of the group to be extinguished.

in the ring as shown in Fig. 2, the 9 tube and the 0 tubes areconducting, and, as explained above, this is a condition whichrepresents a value of zero. When the 0 tube was fired and becameconducting, it impressed an extinguishing action on the 2, 4, 6, and 8tubes of this group and caused the 8 tube, which was the only tube ofthe group to be conducting, to be extinguished. The conducting 0 tubealso primed the 1 tube to render the 1 tube receptive to be operated bythe next impulse impressed on the tubes. This condition of the tubeswill continue until the next impulse is impressed on the ring, at whichtime the primed 1 tube will be fired and will become conducting andcause the 9 ube to be extinguished and the 2 tube to be primed foroperation. The following impulse will cause the 2 tube to fire andbecome conducting, which causes the 0 tube to be extinguished and the 3tube to be primed. Similarly, the remaining tubes of the ring can befired sequence. With the arrangement of tubes shown in Fig. 2, there arebut two tubes conducting at any given time, but there will be arecurrence of the extinguishing action in each group when every othertube of the ring is fired.

The stcp-by-step sequential operation of the pairs of tubes asfunctionally described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2 is notnecessarily based on their physical adjacence, nor is this step-by-stepoperation to be deemed to limit the scope of the invention, as thenumber of tubes of the ring may be increased or decreased to suit anumerical notation desired or to suit any other form of data to berepresented, and the grouping of the tubes may be varied with thedifferent numbers of tubes used and the speed of operation desired.

The novelty of the invention resides not only in the particular circuitnetwork as shown, but also in the broad idea of grouping the tubes formutual extinguishing action and in the isolation of the extinguishingaction between groups of tubes forming a ring, which enable the ring ofgaseous electron tubes to be operated. at high speeds.

When the counting ring is used to represent a numerica1 denominationalorder, it may be used with other similar rings to form a pluraldenominational order accumulator for numerical data. The condition ofcompletion of each sequential operation of all the tubes of onedenominational ring can give rise to an electrical impulse, which can beused to cause one step of operation of the ring of anotherdenominational order in any suitableway, one of which will be explainedhereinafter.

The circuits The circuits connecting the ten tubes according to thearrangement shown in Fig. 1 are shown in Fig. 3. In the explanation ofthese circuits, the values given for the various potentials, resistors,and capacitors are relative and are merely illustrative, so that anychanges in the type of tubes or in the speed or stability of operationdesired may require a variation in these values.

As in Fig. l, the tubes in the circuit diagram make up a denominationalorder in the decimal notation, and the digit values to 9 have beenassigned to them. These tubes are thermionic gaseous electron tubes,contain an anode, a cathode, and a grid, and are grid-controlled. Thegrid is normally given a higher negative potential than the cathode andwill prevent the tube from firing or becoming conducting until thenegative potential of the grid is lowered to within 15 volts of thecathode potential. The heater elements for the cathodes of these tubesare shown conventionally in the diagram.

A terminal BI, which is the source of anode potential supply, issupplied with a potential of +75 volts and is connected through thepoint 62 and the conductor 63 to the anode of each of the tubes.

A terminal 64, supplied with a potential of l50 volts, furnishes thepotential for the oathode and the negative biasing potential for thegrid of each of the tubes. The terminal 0 1 is connected to theconductor 05, from which extend parallel circuits, one for each tube.Since the parallel circuits are identical, that for the 0 tube willserve as an example. From the conductor 65 at point 65, the circuit forthe 0 tube extends over a resistor 61 of 150,000 ohms to points 68 and69 over a resistor I0 of 100,000 ohms and a capacitor ll of 150micro-microfarads in parallel to points l2 and I3 and then over aresistor 14 of 15,000 ohms to ground. The cathode 15 of the 0 tube isconnected in this circuit at the point I2 and has a potential ofapproximately -8.5 Volts. From the point 39 in this circuit, a circuitextends over a resistor 88 of 500,000 ohms to point it, then over aresistor ll of 50,000 ohms to the grid I8 of the 1 tube, and suppliesthis grid normally with a potential of approximately 65 volts. In theother parallel circuits extending from the conductor 05, th cathodes ofthe 1):: n3, n4, 5, '7, 8, and 9 tubes are connected to the points I9,80, SI, 82, 83, 8d, 85, 80, and 8?, respectively, and the grids of the2, "3, 4, 5, 6, 'l', 8, 9, and 0 tubes are connected over the necessaryresistors to the points SI, 02,

g 93, 94, 95, 96, Ill, 98, and 99, respectively, through 0 8 whichconnections the required negative potentials are supplied to thecathodes and grids of these tubes.

The electrical input impulses which cause the step-by-step operation ofthe ring are impressed on the terminal I00 at a frequency which islimited only by the speed of operation of the ring. The terminal I00 isconnected at point IOI to the impulse conductor I02. Circuits extendfrom the impulse conductor I02 and electrostatically couple the grids ofthe tubes to the conductor, so that impulses may be impressed on thetubes to cause their operation. The circuit from the impulse conductorI02 to the grid 18 of the 1 tube is representative of these couplingsand extends from the impulse conductor I02 through a capacitor MS of 5micro-microfarads to the point 10 in the circuit to the grid I8. Similarcircuits extend from the impulse conductor I02 over the capacitors I00,I05, I00, I01, I08, I09, H0, III, and M2 to points H3, ll i, H5, H6,Ill, H3, H0, I20, and I2I, respectively, in the g i ci cuits or the 2,3, 4 ((5):: M6,!) :17, 8, 9, and "0 tubes.

The impulses impressed on the input terminal I00 cause a potential riseof +100 volts to be impressed on the impulse conductor I02, whichpotential rise can affect the grids of all the tubes through theelectrostatic couplings between the grids and the input conductor i02,but the grids normally have a sufiicient negative bias that theseimpulses will not cause any tube to be fired unless that tube has beenprimed by having the negative bias of its grid reduced to such an extentthat the positive potential rise derived from the input impulse willcause the negative potential of the grid to be lowered to within 15volts oi the cathode potential.

The priming of the tubes is accomplished by using the potential rise ofthe cathode of a tube, which occurs when the tube is conducting, toreduce the biasing potential of the grid of the next tube in the ring tobe fired. The circuit, traced previously from the conductor at pointover resistor ii, points 68 and 09, resistor 10 and capacitor H inparallel, points 12 and I3 and resistor '64 to ground, by whichpotential normally supplied to the cathode iii of 0 tube and the gridll] of the 1 tube by their connections thereto at the points 72 and 69respectively, is used to effect the priming of the 1 tube when the 0tube is conducting. Before the 0 tube is fired and rendered conducting,the potential of its cathode l5 is 8.5 volts and is obtained principallyfrom its connection to the potential supply conductor 00. When the 0tube is conducting, the cathode '15 not only is connected to thepotential supply conductor 05, but also is coupled electronically to theanode of the 0 tube, which anode has a potential of +75 volts appliedthereto. Under these conditions, the potential of the cathode I5 willrise to about +60 volts, and this will cause the potential of the gridof the 1 tube, which is connected to the same circuit at point '69, tobecome less negative. The capacitor II in the priming circuit causesthis potential rise to be applied quickly to the grid "E8. This changein potential of the grid of the 1 tube reduces the controlling bias ofthe grid to such an extent that the next impulse impressed on the gridsof all the tubes will be effective to reduce the potential of the grid10 to less than 15 volts more negative than the potential of the cathodeof the 1 tube, causing that tube to fire and become con- 9 ducting.Similar couplings between the successive tubesof the ring enable thetubes to be primed and fired one afteranother in anendless chainsequence in responsetoone or more impressed impulses.

As explained earlier herein, the gaseous electron tubesas used in thisring will-continue to conduct oncetheyhave been fired. Accordingly,some-formof extinguishingactionis required to stop conduction within thetubes. This is accomplished'in the method shown in thecircuit diagram,byelectrostatic connection of the oathode of a conducting tube with thecathode of a tube that is to be fired and causing the potential rise-ofthe cathodeof the'tube, as it is fired, to momentarily raise the cathodepotential of the previously conducting tube to a value greaterthan theanodepotential and cause oonduction to stop in the tube, thus enablingthe grid to resume control. Afterthe tube has been extinguished,itscathode recovers or resumes the potential which it had'before thetube became conducting and is .then ready, if primed, for furtheroperation when another impulse is impressed thereon.

Applicants have provided a novel arrangement for connecting the tubes ofthe ring for extinguishing action, and, because of this arrangement, thering of tubes may beoperated at very high speeds. Thetubes are connectedin groups, with adjacent tubes of the ring being included in differentgroups. The various groups of tubes are isolated, sothat the firing of atubeof one group will cause any other conducting tube of that group tobe extinguished, butzwill not affect any of the tubes of the othergroups, and the tubesof the other groupsm-ay be primed-andi-operatedwhilethe tubesof one group are recovering from the extinguishing action.

In the embodiment of the invention as disclosed in Figs. 1 and 3,thetube and the tube are grouped and connected-for mutualextinguishingraction, so thatpwhen the 0 tube is fired andbecomesconducting, it will extinguish the 5 tube, and, when the 5 tubebecomes conducting, it will extinguish ,the 0 tube. Accordingly, one orthe other of thetubes of this group is conducting whenever the ring isinoperation.

The connectionbetween the cathode "I5 of the 0 tube and the cathode ofthe 5 tube, as shown-by line [Din Figs. 1 and 3,:extends in Fig. 3 fromthe point 12 over a resistor I22 of 5,000 ohms and a capacitorof ,500micro-.microfarads in serie to the-point 83. Similar connections,referred to generally as .I 1,42, -I3,.and [4, which extend between thepoints 19, 80,81, and Hand the points 84,85, v86, and 81,,respective1y,connect the cathodes of "the '1, 2, 3, and 4 tubes with the 6, '7, 8,and 9 tubes to form the various groups of tubes. Asin the case ofthe 0and 5 tubes, one=or the other of the tubes of each group will beconducting when the ring is in operation.

If the ring as shown in Figs; land 3 isto be used as one denominationalorder of amulti-denominational order accumulator, any suitable meansmaybe provided to enter a unit in anotherdenominational order eachtimethetubes,

of the-one denominational order have completed a cycle of operation; Forinstance, one method would be :to connect the 0 tubeand the 5 tube 'tocontrol the operation of a well-known trigger pair of: tubes, whichwould operateaselfextinguishing electron tube tosend an impulse to theother denominationalordeneach time the,

.0 tube was fired.

With theunderstandingof the circuits shown in'Fig. 3 to illustratetlieconnections oftthetub'es according to the arrangement of Fig. 1, itis not believed necessary to show the circuits ,for obtainingthe-arrangementaccording to Fig. .2, as the potential supply for thetubes, .the impulse circuits, and the priming circuits would be the,

same as shown in Fig.3, Theonly change would be that the extinguishingconnections, including the 5,000-ohmresistor and the500-.micro-microfarad capacitorin series betweencathodes wouldbeincluded-between the cathodes of theflO, 2, 4, 6, and 8 tubesas onegroup and ,the '1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 tubes as the other group.

, Operation ing, is effective through the coupling between itscathode'l5 and the grid 'IBof the 1 tube to reduce the bias of the gridofthe 1" tube almost to its firing point. When the next impulse isimpressed (0D. conductor I02, it willbe effective, by means of theconnectionthrough the capacitor T03, tocause thepotential of the grid 18to be reduced below its critical biasing point and cause the 1 tube tofire. As the -1-tube fires and becomes conducting, thepotential ofitscathode will rise and, "through'the extinguishing coupling. with thecathode of the conducting 6 tube, will causethe potential of the cathodeof the 6 tube to rise aboveits anode potential and cause the 6 tube tobe extinguished, after which the cathode vof the 6 tube recovers orresumes itsnormal negative potential and is ready for further operation.The conducting 1 tube primes the 2-tube, and, when the next impulseisjimpressed onthe conductor I02, it will .be effective, through theconnection including capacitor I04, to cause'the 2 tube to fireand'becomeconducting. The 2 tube will cause the '7 tube to beextinguished ,and the 3 tube to'be'primed'ior operation. Successiveimpulses will cause the tubes of the ring to .be fired insequencarwiththe"9 tube priming the 0 tube to enabletherepeated operation of thetubes of the ring.

With the arrangement shown in Fig. ,3, itis seen that the 5 tube, whichis ,extinguishediby the firing of the .0 tube, isnot .pirimedforoperation. until .after the 1, 2; 3, and 4" tubeshave been fired and isnot afiected in any way ,by the extinguishing actions involving the 1,2, 3,, and 4.tubes. Since-a tube should not have ,an input impulseimpressed thereon until after it has. recovered .from .an extinguishingaction, it follows .that, with the .abovearrangement, the 5 tubetcanrecover while-the 1, 2, 3, and 4 tubes are beingfiredQso that theprincipal factors which would .limitithe rate at which impulses areimpressed on the;

11,. ring are the time constant of the grid input circuit and theionization time of the tubes. The arrangement shown enables an extremelyhighspeed operation of the gaseous electron tube ring.

The operation of the gaseous electron tube ring schematically shown inFig. 2 is substantially the same as given above, except that only twotubes will be conducting at any instant and its speed will be reducedbecause every second impulse will cause a recurrence of an extinguishingaction in the tubes of the groups. For example, if the tube is fired, itextinguishes the 8 tube but also impresses the extinguishing action onthe 2 tube, which must recover before it can have an impulse impressedthereon, and this means that only the 1 tube can be fired until the 2tube has recovered.

While the form of mechanism herein shown and described is admirablyadapted to fulfill the objects primarily stated, it is to be understoodthat it is not intended to confine the invention to the one form orembodiment herein disclosed, for it is susceptible of embodiment invarious forms all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a plurality of gaseous'electron discharge devices,each device including at least two electrodes and means to controlconduction in the device; means to couple the devices in an endlesschain series for sequential firing in response to impressed impulses,the coupling between successive devices of the series including aconnection between one of the electrodes of a device and the controlmeans of the next device of the series and enabling the conduction inone device to cause the next device in the series, if non-conducting, tobe prepared to be fired in response to an impulse impressed thereon;means to impress impulses on the control means of the devices; and meansfor connecting the devices into groups for mutual extinguishing actionwithin each group, the connections between corresponding electrodes ofthe devices of any group enabling the act of conduction beginning in anydevice of that group to cause any previously conducting device of thatgroup to be extinguished without affecting any of the devices of othergroups, thus isolating the extinguishing action to the devices of thatgroup, the means coupling the devices for sequential firing and themeans for connecting the devices into groups being so coordinated thatadjacent devices in the series are included in different groups and adevice of each of the other groups will be fired before a recurrence offiring takes place within the devices of a group.

2. In combination, a plurality of gaseous electron discharge devices,each of said devices including at least a pair of electrodes and meansto control conduction within the device; means dividing the devices intogroups for mutual extinguishing action within each group, including connections between similar electrodes of the devices of a group to enablethe firing of any device of the group to cause any conducting device ofthat group to be extinguished without afiectin the devices of any othergroup, after which the non-conducting devices of that group recover fromthe extinguishing action and are ready to be fired; means to connect thedevices in an endless chain series for sequential firing in response toinput impulses, the connection between successive devices of the seriesextending between an electrode of a device and the control means of thenext device of the series and enabling the conduction in one device torender the next device in the series, if non-conducting, responsive tobe fired by an input impulse impressed thereon; and means to impressinput impulses on the control means of the devices; the grouping of thedevices being so chosen that successive devices in the series areincluded in difierent groups and a device in each of the other groupswill be fired before a recurrence of firing occurs in any particulargroup, thereby enabling impulses to be impressed on the devices at afrequency sufficiently high to cause a device in each of the othergroups to be fired and rendered conducting while the devices in onegroup are recovering.

3. In combination, a plurality of gaseous electron discharge devices,each device including at least a pair of electrodes and means to controlconduction in the device; means to couple the devices for operation inan endless chain sequence, the couplings including a connection betweenan electrode of one device and the control means of the next device inthe sequence to enable the conduction in a device to cause the nextdevice in the chain sequence, if non-conducting, to be renderedresponsive to an impulse impressed thereon, thereby preparing thedevices selectively and sequentially for conduction in response toimpulses; means to impress impulses on the control means of the devices;and a plurality of independent circuit networks for connecting thedevices in groups for mutual extinguishing action within each group,each circuit network connecting together similar electrodes of thedevices of the group to enable the act of conduction beginning in anydevice of a group to provide a potential change which is impressed onthe other devices of the group and cause any previously conductingdevice to be extinguished and become non-conducting, after which thenon-conducting devices of the group can recover from the extinguishingaction and become ready to have further impulses impressed thereon, thechain connections and independent circuit networks being so coordinatedthat adjacent devices in the chain are included in different groups sothat a device which causes an extinguishing action in one group willprepare a device in another group for conduction in response to animpulse.

4. In combination, a plurality of gaseous electron discharge devices forrepresenting data, each device including at least two electrodes andmeans to control conduction in the device; means for connecting thedevices to form a ring, said connections including a connection betweenone of the electrodes of a device and the control means of the nextdevice of the ring and enabling the conducting condition of a device toprepare the adjacent non-conducting device of the ring to be responsiveto a data-representing impulse so that the devices of the ring can befired and rendered conducting sequentially in an endless operativeseries in response to data-representing impulses; means to supply eachdata-representing impulse to the control means of all of said devices;and circuits for connecting the devices into groups for mutualextinguishing action within each group, said circuits extending betweensimilar electrodes of the devices of the group and enabling the firingof any device of any group to cause any previously conducting device inonly that particular group to be extinguished, thus isolatin theextinguishing action within the group, and the coordination of the it?means for connecting the devices in a ring and the circuits connectingthe devices in groups being such that a device of each of the othergroups is fired before a recurrence of firing occurs within any group ofdevices.

5. In combination, a plurality of gaseous electron discharge devices,each device including at least a pair of electrodes and means to controlconduction in the device; means for coupling the devices for sequentialpriming of the devices, said couplings including a connection betweenone of the electrodes of a device and the control means of the nextdevice of the sequence to enable the conduction in a device to prime thenext device in the sequence, if non-conducting, so that the devices maybe fired and rendered conducting one after another in an endlessoperative series in response to data-representing impulses; means tosupply data-representing impulses to the control means of the devices;and a plurality of independent circuits for connecting the devices inpairs for mutual extinguishing action which is isolated within eachpair, said circuits extending between similar electrodes of the pair ofdevices enabling either device of the pair, when it is fired, to causethe other device of the pair, which is conducting, to be extinguished,after which the extinguished device recovers from the extinguishingaction and is ready to be fired by data-representing impulses impressedthereon, the pattern of the connections connecting the devices in pairsand its relation to the couplings between devices being such that, whilea device of a pair is recovering, a device in each of the other pairs ofdevices can be fired in response to data-representing impulses.

6. In combination, a plurality of gaseous electron discharge devices,each device representing a unit of data and including at least a pair ofelectrodes and means to control conduction in the device; means forconnecting the devices in an endless chain series for sequentialoperation, the connection between successive devices of the seriesextending from one of the pair of electrodes of one device to thecontrol means of the next device and enabling the conduction in onedevice to cause the next device of the series, if nonconductin-g, to beprimed to be fired by the next data-representing impulse impressed onthe de vices of the series; means to impress data-representing impulseson the control means of all the devices; and a plurality of independentextinguishing circuits for connecting the devices in pairs for mutualextinguishing action which is isolated within each pair, said circuitsconnecting similar electrodes in the devices and enabling the firing ofeither device of the pair to provide a potential impulse which isimpressed on the other device of the pair and causes said other device,which is conducting, to be extinguished, the priming connections and thepairing connections between the various devices being so coordinatedthat successive devices of the series are included in diiferent pairsand a device of each of the other pairs is fired before a recurrence offiring within any pair takes place.

7. In combination, a plurality of gaseous electron devices each havingan anode as one element thereof, a cathode as another element thereof,and a control grid to control conduction in the device; primingcouplings between the devices to enable the devices to be fired andrendered conducting in an endless chain sequence one after another inresponse to input impulses impressed on all the devices, said couplingsconstituting a connection between the cathode element of one device andthe control grid of the next device to be operated in the sequence,whereby the conducting condition of one device renders the control gridof the other device effective to cause the other device to be fired andrendered conducting in response to the next input impulse; means toimpress impulses on all the devices; and means connecting the devices ingroups for mutual extinguishing action within each group and includingconnections between similar elements of the devices comprised in thegroup whereby the firing of any device of the group will cause any otherconduct ing device of the group to be extinguished, after which thenon-conducting devices of the group recover for further operation, thegrouping of the devices being so chosen that adjacent devices in thesequential operation are included in difierent groups, and the number ofgroups is such that a maximum number of impulses can be impressed on thedevices before a recurrence of the firing of a device takes place withinthe devices of a group.

8. In combination, a plurality of gaseous electron tubes, each tubehaving an anode as one element, a cathode as another element, and acontrol means; means dividing the tubes in groups for mutualextinguishing action within each group, said dividing means includingcircuits connecting together similar elements in each of the tubes ofthe group so that a potential change on the element in a tube when it isfired can be transmitted to the other elements of the group and causeany conducting tube of the group to be extinguished; means to connectthe tubes for sequential firing in an endless chain series in responseto impressed impulses, the con nection between successive tubes of theseries enabling conduction in one tube to modify the control by thecontrol means of the next tube in the series, if not conducting, andcause said next tube to be primed for firing in response to an impressed impulse; and means to impress impulses on the control means ofthe tubes to cause their sequential firing; the circuits of the meansdividing the tubes into groups and the connections in the means forconnecting the tubes for sequential firing being so coordinated thatsuccessively fired tubes in the chain series are included in differentgroups, thus enabling the firing of a tube to extinguish anyconductingtube of its group and the conduction in the fired tube tocause a tube in another group to be primed for firing, whereby theprimed tube is not affected by the extinguishing action.

9. In combination, a plurality of gaseous electron discharge devices,each device having an anode as one element, a cathode as anotherelement, and a control means; means: dividing the devices in groups formutual extinguishing action within each group, said dividing meansincluding circuits connecting together similar elements in each of thedevices of a group and isolating the F extinguishing action within thegroup so that a potential change on the element in a device when it isfired can be transmitted only to the other elements of the group andcause any conducting device of the group to be extinguished, after whichthe non-conducting devices recover from the extinguishing action and areready to be fired; means to connect the devices for sequenltial firingin an endless chain series in response to impressed impulses, saidconnecting means including a connection between the cathode elements"and the control means of successive de-' vices of the series whereb thepotential of the cathode element when its device is conducting canmodify the control by the control means of the next device in theseries, if that device is nonconducting, and render that deviceresponsive to an input impulse; and means to impress impulses on thecontrol means of the devices; the circuits of the dividing means and themeans to connect the devices for sequential firing being so coordinatedthat a device in each of the other groups will be fired before arecurrence of firing occurs in any particular group, thus enablingimpulses to 'be impressed on the devices at a frequency which will causea device in each of the other groups to be fired and rendered conductingwhile the devices in one group are recovering.

10. In combination, a plurality of gaseous electron tubes, each tubehaving an anode as one element, a cathode as another element, anda'control grid; means dividing the tubes in groups for mutualextinguishing action within each group, said dividing means comprisingcircuits connecting together similar elements in each of the tubes ofany group so that a potential change on the element in a tube when. itis fired can be transmitted to the other elements of the group and'cause any conducting tube of the group to be extinguished, after whichthe elements of the non-conducting tubes of the group recover from theimpressed potential change and are capable of being fired and renderedconducting; means to connect the tubes for firing sequentially in anendless chain series in response to impressed impulses; and means toimpress impulse on the tubes to cause their sequential firing; the tubesof th groups being so selected that successive tubes in the sequentialoperation are included in different groups whereby a tube in one group,which has recovered from an extinguishing action, can be fired while thetubes in the other groups are recovering from an extinguishing action,thus enabling impulses to be impressed on the tubes at a high rate ofspeed.

11. In combination, a plurality of gaseous electron tubes, each tubehaving an anode as one element, a cathode as another element, and acontrol means to control conduction therein; means for segregating thetubes into the maximum number of groups having equal numbers of tubesthat may be obtained from the plurality of tubes, said segregating meansincluding circuits connecting together similar elements in each of thetubes of the group so that a potential change on the element in a tubewhen it is fired can be transmitted only to the other elements of thegroup and cause any conducting tube of the group to be extinguishedwithout affecting the tubes of the other groups; means to connect thetubes for sequential firing in an endless chain series in response toimpressed impulses, said sequential connections including circuitsbetween adjacent tubes in the series to enable the conduction in onetube to modify the control by the control means of the next tube in theseries, if said next tube is not conducting, and thereby render saidnext tube responsive to be fired by an impulse impressed thereon; andmeans to impress impulses on the control means of the tubes to cause thesequential firing of the tubes; the relation between the segregatingcircuits and the sequential connections between the tubes being suchthat a tube in each of the other groups is fired before a recurrence offiring in any group occurs, thus enabling a maximum number of impulsesto be impressed on the devices before a recurrence of firing in a grouptakes place.

12, In combination, a plurality of gaseous electron tubes, each tubehaving an anode as one element, a cathode as another element, and acontrol grid; means connecting the tubes in isolated groups for mutualextinguishing action within each group, said connecting means comprisingcircuits connecting together similar elements in each of the tubes ofany group so that a potential change on the element in a tube when it isfired can be transmitted only to the other elements of the group andcause any conducting tube of the group to be extinguished withoutafiecting the tubes of the other groups, after which extinguishingaction the elements of the non-conducting tubes of the group recoverfrom the impressed potential change and are capable of being fired andrendered conducting; means comprising a cathode element-control gridcircuit between successive tubes of a series to selectively prime thetubes for sequential firing in an endless chain series in response toimpressed impulses; and means to impress impulses on the tubes to causetheir sequential firing; the tubes of the groups being so selected thatsuccessive tubes in the sequential operation of the tubes are includedin different groups whereby a tube in one group which has recovered froman extinguishing action can be fired while the tubes in the other groupsare recovering from extinguishing actions.

13. In combination, a plurality of gaseous electron tubes, each tubehaving an anode as one element, a cathode as another element, and acontrol grid; a plurality of independent networks for segregating thetubes in groups, each group having the same number of tubes, and each ofsaid networks comprising circuits connecting together similar elementsin each of the tubes of the group so that a potential change on theelement in a tube when it is fired can be transmitted only to the otherelements of the group to cause any conducting tube of the group to beextinguished without affecting the tubes of the other groups; means toconnect the tubes in an endless chain series, said connecting meanscomprising a cathode element-control grid circuit between successivetubes of a series whereby conduction in one tube primes the next tube inthe series for firing in response to an impressed impulse; and means toimpress impulses on the tubes; the relation between the networks and thepriming connections being such that a tube, which is fired and causes anextinguishing action in one group, will prime a tube in another group.

14. In combination, a plurality of gaseous electron tubes, each tubehaving an anode a one element, a cathode as another element, and acontrol grid; means for segregating the tubes into the maximum number ofgroups having equal numbers of tubes that may be obtained from theplurality of tubes, said segregating means isolating the groups andcomprising circuits connecting together similar elements in each of thetubes of the group so that a potential change onthe element in a tubewhen it is fired can be transmitted only to the other elements of thegroups and cause any conducting tube of the group to be extinguishedwithout aifecting the tubes of the other groups, after whichextinguishing action the elements of the non-conducting tubes of thegroup recover from the potential change and are capable of being firedand rendered conducting; means to connect the tubes in a ring forsequential firing in an endless chain series in response to impressedimpulses; and means to impress impulses on the tubes to cause theirsequential firing; the relation between the segregating circuits and theconnections for sequential firing being such that a tube in each groupis fired before a recurrence of firing in any group takes place, thusenabling a maximum number of impulses to be impressed on the ring whilethe tubes of any group are recovering from an extinguishing action.

15. In combination, a plurality of gaseous electron tubes, each tuberepresenting a unit of data and including an anode, a cathode and acontrol grid; a plurality of independent extinguishing circuits forconnecting the tubes in isolated pairs, said circuits electrostaticallycoupling the oathodes of the tubes so that a potential rise of a cathodeof a tube, as that tube is fired, will be impressed on the cathode ofthe other tube of the pair and will cause that tube, which isconducting, to be extinguished, after which the oathode of theextinguished tube recovers from the impressed potential rise and isready to be fired; priming circuits for connecting the tubes in anendless operative series for sequential firing in response to impresseddata-representing impulses, said priming circuits connecting the oathodeof one tube with the control grid of the next tube in the series,thereby connecting the different pairs of tubes so that a tube in eachpair will be fired before a recurrence of firing takes place in anypair; and means to impress datarepresenting impulses on the tubes at afrequency to cause a tube in each of the other pairs to be fired andrendered conducing while an extinguished tube in one of the pairs isrecovering.

16. In combination, a plurality of gaseous electron tubes, each tuberepresenting a unit of data and including an anode, a cathode, and acontrol grid; a plurality of independent extinguishing circuits forconnecting the tubes in isolated pairs, said circuits electrostaticallycoupling the cathodes of the tubes so that a potential rise of a cathodeof a tube, as that tube is fired, will be 18 impressed on the cathode ofthe other tube of the pair and will cause that tube, which isconducting, to be extinguished, after which the cathode of theextinguished tube recovers from the impressed potential rise and isready to be fired; priming circuits for connecting the tubes in anendless operative series for sequentialfiring in response to impresseddata-representing impulses, said priming circuits connecting the cathodeof one tube with the control grid of the next tube in the series,thereby connecting the different pairs of tubes so that a tube in eachpair will be fired before a recurrence of firing takes place in anypair; the relation between the extinguishing cir- I Number cuits and thepriming circuits being such that a tube, which is fired and becomesconductin causes the extinguishing of the other tube of its pair and thepriming of the non-conducting tube of the next pair in the sequence; andmeans to impress data-representing impulses on the tubes at a frequencyto cause a tube in each of the other pairs'to be fired and renderedconducting while an extinguished tube in one of the pairs is recovering.

ROBERT E. MUMMA.

ERNEST V. GULDEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Holden Nov. 16, 1937 Koch May 16, 1939Shumard Feb. 14, 1939 OTHER REFERENCES R. C. A. Publication No. ST-Ql,May 1938, entitled Some Electronic Switching Circuits, by C. C. Shumard,12 pages, 250-2'7-R,

Review of Scientific Instruments, vol. 8, 1937, p. 391, Scale-of-EightCounting Unit, by Giarratana, 235-61 Pub. (Copy in Div. 23).

Certificate of Correction Patent No. 2,426,279. August 26, 1947.

ROBERT E. MUMMA ET AL.

It is hereby certified that errors appear in the printed specificationof the above numbered patent re uiring correction as follows: Column 6,line 32, after the syllable eludes insert the; ine 37, for tubes readtube; column 15, line 35, claim 10, for impulse read impulses; column17, line 36, claim 15, for conducing read conducting; and that the saidLetters Patent should be read with these corrections therein that thesame may conform to the recordof the case in the Patent Ofiice.

Signed and sealed this 7th day of October, A. D. 1947.

THOMAS F. MURPHY, V

Assistant G'ommz'saioner of Patents.

